Trekking Grades

Easy : A low landscape, ranging from 1000 to 3000 meters, in this mountainous region, suitable for a people with no prior experience but just a flair of walking. Walking past small villages and terraced landscape, with the mountains on the back drop, this is ideal for everyone who loves to be in the nature and enjoy walking a few hours every day.

Moderate : In Nepal mountains are everywhere thus this being moderate means going up and down the mountain trails specially in the mid hills of Nepal. A fit body and an enthusiasm to explore the inner villages on foot is the only requirement.

Moderate to Strenuous : With an altitude rising, this trekking is reasonably demanding. Trekking in an altitude around 4,000 meters in a mountain trail with fair bits of climbing and descends.

Strenuous : As the very name suggests, this trek is quite demanding and thus requires all the members be in good health. With some high passes with an altitude of over 5,500 meters to cross over on foot this is certainly a trekking that requires some solid determination and resolve.

Alpine : Extremely demanding treks, in an alpine condition in some remote areas and high altitude. Peak climbing of some 6,500 plus meters are also classified in this category. Basic knowledge about the mountain climbing equipments is required if one attempts to climb any of these climbing peaks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trekking Season

Autumn (September to November)
Just after the heavy downpour in the monsoon season, the sky is a turquoise blue with great mountains view and soothing greenery everywhere. It is considered the best trekking season with excellent weather and moderate temperature.

Winter (December to February)
Winter certainly brings lot of snowfall in the high trekking routes thus making it ideal for trekking in the low elevation, generally below 3500 meters. Even in winter the country gets a lot of sunshine. Thus a very moderate temperature specially in the day time. It is really nice to walk around with the warm sun shinning with the nearby hills and peaks glittering with snow.

Spring (March to May)
Spring, the king of the season brings a burst of flowers everywhere. Specially above 3000 meters there are forests of rhododendrons of different colours all soaked in the smell of these big mountain flowers. Just after the winter the temperature is mild and the mountains are really glittering with snow. People in the high altitude above 4000 meters are slowly returning back to their normal life after the slumber of the winter.

Summer (June to August)
Summer certainly is warm as well as wet. With water sprouting from everywhere, there are water falls everywhere and the vegetation is also lush. In such a wet condition it is recommended to carry insect repellents when trekking during these summer months.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Altitude Sickness

When trekking in Nepal Himalayas “Altitude related Problems” are the important factors to be considered because there is always a real danger of mild to serious problems related to altitude and it is important that trekkers understand that they will be affected to a greater or lesser extent when they ascend to altitudes over about 3000 meters. Altitude sickness, often known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and it means the effect of altitude on those who ascend too rapidly to elevation above 3000 meters. The victim can develop severe symptoms very rapidly if the mild effects are ignored.

I advise my clients to remember the following suggestion when you are on trekking in the high altitude areas above 3000 meters. The following are the basic symptoms of the altitude sickness and to avoid such sickness I recommend few important points.

1. Basic Symptoms :
(I) Loss of appetite
(II) Sleep disturbance
(III) Difficult to pass urine

2. Medium Symptoms :
(I) Headache which is bad
(II) Irregular breathing
(III) Nausea
(IV) Mild weakness

3. Serious Symptoms :
(I) Slight swelling of hands and face
(II) Cannot stand upright without swaying while eyes are closed.
(III) Can hear gurgling sound in the chest.
(IV) Zero energy.

I want to request my clients that please feel free to discuss any kind of trouble with me whether it is simply gastro-intestinal or altitude related.